News

It took a little longer than expected to determine, but the Frozen Four in NCAA men's hockey is now set.

Alden Hirschfeld scored at 1:54 of double overtime to give top-seeded Miami of Ohio a 3-2 victory against Michigan in the NCAA Midwest Regional final Sunday night, sending the RedHawks to the Frozen Four for the second straight season.

Miami joins Boston College, Wisconsin and Rochester Institute of Technology in the Frozen Four, which will be played at Ford Field in Detroit next week.

Hirschfeld picked the puck up at the top of the right circle, turned and fired it past goalie Shawn Hunwick. Pat Cannone scored two power-play goals for Miami, Curtis McKenzie had a pair of assists and Connor Knapp made 55 saves. Hirschfeld's goal was the only even-strength goal Miami scored in the regional.

"Obviously it was an unbelievable feeling," Hirschfeld said. "The puck just kind of popped out and I took it out to the top of the circle and their D went down to block it and I just shot it through on net."

David Wohlberg had an even-strength goal for Michigan, Chad Langlais added a power-play goal and defenseman Steve Kampfer had a pair of assists. Hunwick made 32 saves against Michigan's Central Collegiate Hockey Association rival.

The RedHawks (29-7-7), who came within a minute of winning the national title last year before squandering a two-goal lead and losing in overtime to Boston University, will face Boston College (27-10-3) in the semifinals on April 8.

Michigan freshman Kevin Lynch appeared to score 2:37 into the first overtime, but the referee lost sight of the puck and blew the whistle before it crossed the goal line.

"That's a tough one to swallow. There's a loose puck in the crease and the referee blows the whistle because he was calling a penalty on them, yet we had control or were about to have control of the puck," Michigan coach Red Berenson said.

The loss cost Michigan (26-18-1) a chance to play for the national championship practically in its own backyard. The Michigan campus is about 45 miles from Ford Field.

It also prevented Berenson the opportunity to join the 700-win club. Only five college hockey coaches have reached that plateau.

Northeast Regional

Cam Atkinson had three goals and Carl Sneep scored a 170-foot shorthanded goal to help Boston College beat Yale in a wild 9-7 victory to earn its ninth trip to the Frozen Four in 13 seasons.

Joe Whitney and Jimmy Hayes each scored twice and John Muse made 32 saves for the Eagles (27-10-3), who are in search of their third national title since 2001. Boston College matched the regional record for goals in a game and the teams set a regional record for combined goals.

Mark Arcobello scored three goals for Yale (21-10-3), Brian O'Neill added two and Denny Kearney and Broc Little also scored.

"If only I played as good on defense as I did on offense," said Arcobello, who holds Yale's record for most games played with 131.

Boston College, the Hockey East tournament champion, won national titles in 2001 and 2008 after winning regional finals in Worcester, Mass. The Eagles will face Miami (Ohio) on April 8 in Detroit.

"We had a lot of good and a lot of bad tonight," B.C. forward Ben Smith said, "but the good thing is we came out on the right side. A 9-7 game is always scary, especially against a team like Yale, who can score a lot of goals. It was just one of those nights: Who can score the most goals?"